Just up the corner from my London B&B, I tanked down a pint with some nice working class guys who spend their time hanging out in SoHo/London. Seems they know a lot more than just driving a truck–one even has an iPod! They say the timing of my Regent Street visit couldn’t have been worse– the construction scaffolding is set to come down over the next few weeks, and then the ground-level supporting steel structure will also be removed.

After another two pints one guy is describing the store as "a monster," the widest store-front for Apple, and the second largest retail space in the chain. Inside, there will room for more than one sit-down theater and several training classrooms, continuing the theme established at the Ginza store. These folks admitted they weren’t potential Apple store employees, but noted that big-time Cupertino people are even now on-scene recruiting and interviewing applicants. Before the bloaks walked off into the darkness, they told me to get my party hat ready– Apple is proud of the San Francisco grand opening, and will use it as the model for the Regent Street event!